DESCRIPTION: The goal of this project is to strengthen the master's degree programs in chemistry and biology at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University so that its African American and Hispanic graduates are qualified for and accepted into the doctoral degree programs in biomedical research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM). The two schools will collaborate on a set of activities that will make this possible. Project activities will (1) enhance LIU's academic competitiveness; (2) increase its research capabilities; (3) establish a mentoring program for LIU MS students at both institutions; and (4) strengthen the science curriculum at LIU through joint seminars, team-teaching, and collaborative research. LIU has the experience, educational infrastructure and student population of minorities that bodes well for success. Albert Einstein's contribution of research faculty, educational programs, and laboratory facilities further strengthens the partnership's potential to increase the number of under represented minority students who pursue careers in the biomedical sciences. The proposed bridge's research projects involve the use of state-of-the-art equipment available at LIU-Brooklyn-AECOM-Bronx. Some of this equipment is unique to AECOM and permits our students and faculty to conduct world class research. Albert Einstein's doctoral programs were selected from the many considered by Long Island University because of the commitment of their faculty to increasing the participation of under represented minorities into the ranks of biological research sciences.